Where there's smoke
by searcher
Summary: Final two chapters are up, including real ending R
1. Where there's smoke

My second attempt, the computer ate the other story. This is based on actual events, the names have been changed and other slight modifications. I don't own CSI, I just watch it.  
  
Rated PG-13  
  
  
Where there's smoke....  
  
The Tahoe rounded the corner and drove down the normally quiet street. The smell of smoke was still heavy in the air. Several emergency vehicles surrounded the small frame house, their flashing lights adding a strobe effect to the night.  
  
"Hi Gil, Sara," Brass said as he approached the two as they emerged from the Tahoe. "One victim inside, name's Debra Farmer, age 25, single, lived alone, worked as a bailiff with the county court. Fire started in her bedroom, she was found on the bed by Deputy Brad Henderson. He called it in."  
  
"Where's he at now," asked Sara as she gathered some equipment.  
  
"That's him, over by the tree," responded Brass.  
  
"Sara, why don't you start with him and I'll start on the house," said Grissom as he and Brass headed for the door.  
  
Sara approached the young deputy, "Sara Sidle, CSI, I need to ask you a few questions?"  
  
"I tried," he sobbed. "I tried so hard, but I couldn't get to her. The fire was so big. I called to her, but she didn't move. I couldn't get to her, I just couldn't get to her."  
  
Sara put her hand on the young man's arm, "That's okay, I'm sure you did your best, but I need you to tell me everything that happened."  
  
"I....I," he stuttered, "I got off duty at 3 AM, I was coming by Debra's house to check on her, she'd been having some trouble with an ex-boy friend. As I got close I thought I smelled smoke and when I turned down the street I saw flames coming from one of the windows. I called it in and ran to the house and kicked in the door. The smoke was so thick I crawled towards her bedroom. I kept calling her name but she wasn't answering, then I saw her, on the bed, she wasn't moving. The fire was all around her, I think she was already dead." He put his face in his hands and began to cry.  
  
"Thank you Deputy. If you think of anything, just call me," Sara handed him one of her cards.  
  
"I will," he sniffed. "I hope you find the bastard who did this to her."  
  
Sara noted his remarks and headed for the house.  
  
~*~  
  
The smell of burnt flesh hit Grissom and Brass as they entered the house. Grissom noticed that except for the smell, the kitchen in which they stood appeared untouched by the fire.  
  
"Body is this way," Brass turned to his left and headed for the bedroom as Grissom took a photo of the window over the sink.   
  
As he entered the bedroom, Grissom took in the scene that lay before him. Debra Farmer lay across what was left of the bed on her back. The fire had been intense and she was burned beyond recognition. The burn pattern of the room showed the fire had begun in the corner behind the bed. A gas can to his right caught his attention.  
  
"Any guesses as to what accelerant was used?" Grissom knelt down by the can.  
  
"Gasoline?" Sara guessed as she entered the room.  
  
"Give the lady a gold star," replied Brass. "I'll leave you two to finish up here," he turned and left the room.  
  
"Anything useful from the deputy?" questioned Grissom as he took a sample of burnt material on the floor.  
  
"Apparently there's an ex-boy friend that's been causing some problems." Sara walked over to the bed to gather additional samples. "Such a horrible way to die."  
  
"I think she may have already been dead before the fire started. The fire was just a cover up. Somebody just wanted us to think this was a break in and arson case."  
  
"Why do you think that?"  
  
"The kitchen window," explained Grissom. They gathered their equipment and samples and headed back to the kitchen.  
  
"The screen has been cut, but you don't think this was the method of entry?" Sara questioned Grissom as she examined the window.  
  
"No, I don't. The screen was cut from the inside."  
  
"How can you tell?"  
  
"Notice how the window is not completely open and the screen is cut just below the opening. If it was cut from outside, the whole screen would've been cut, not below the open edge. I think whoever did it, came in the front door."  
  
"She let him in. Somebody she knew, like an ex-boy friend possibly," Sara said.  
  
"Possibly," responded Grissom. 


	2. Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions  
  
"Hey Sara," Nick glanced up from the papers he was working on. He noticed the grim look on her face. "What's wrong?"  
  
She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from Nick. "Murder and arson case. Young girl, had her whole life ahead of her, and someone took that from her."  
  
"Any viable suspects?"  
  
"One so far, an ex-boy friend who apparently was causing some problems."  
  
Nick could tell Sara was upset. "Where's Grissom?"  
  
"With the body in the coroner's lab," Sara continued staring at her coffee, she had yet to drink any of it.  
  
"Well," Nick pushed himself away from the table and stood up, "I've got to be in court in twenty minutes."  
  
Sara barely noticed as he left the room and Warrick and Catherine entered. "Sara, you have a call, from a, uh, I think he said his name was Brad Henderson, Deputy Brad Henderson, line two," Warrick said as he sat in the chair vacated by Nick.  
  
She nearly collided with Catherine as she raced to the phone on desk. Warrick and Catherine exchanged worried glances as they quickly realized Sara had already become emotionally attached to the case she was working on.  
  
"Sara Sidle, is this Brad?"   
  
"Ms. Sidle," came the response, "I have a name for you, the ex-boy friend. It completely skipped my mind when we talked earlier."  
  
"Yes, yes," replied Sara reaching for a pen and some paper.  
  
"His name is Vince Francis. He's a corrections officer at the jail. Well, actually, he's an ex-corrections officer. He was fired recently."  
  
"Do you know why he was fired?" she questioned.  
  
"Sexual harassment. One of the women he was harassing was Debra. That's all the information I have."  
  
"Thanks Brad, this will help a lot." Sara hung up the phone as Grissom walked in.  
  
"Our possible suspect just became a strong suspect," she smiled as she noticed Grissom. "Seems the ex-boy friend, one Vince Francis, was harassing Debra and was fired because of it."  
  
"Hmmm, a revenge killing," Grissom had a look of deep thought on his face. "I just came from the coroner's lab. The forensics dentist positively identified the body as Debra Farmer. And the cause of death, well, this fits with revenge."  
  
Sara was getting anxious, "Grissom!"  
  
"Thirty-five stab wounds. This was somebody who was in a rage."  
  
"What else did the coroner say?" Warrick leaned forward on the table.  
  
Grissom continued, "Time of death was established as twelve midnight. No sign of smoke in the lungs so she was dead before the fire started. Greg's preliminary lab results confirmed gasoline was present. And it was poured directly on her body, so whoever did it, was trying to hide the stabbing."  
  
"Wow," Warrick let out a deep breath. "Sounds like this guy was extremely upset."  
  
"Upset?" Catherine said shaking her head. "This was a guy out of control. Someone who wanted to control his women, and when he couldn't....."  
  
"He killed her," Sara finished her sentence.  
  
"We don't know that for certain yet," interuppted Grissom.  
  
"What's not to know," Sara was beginning to lose control, "She broke up with him, he harassed her, he got fired for it, blamed her and killed her."  
  
"That only gives us a motive, but did he have the opportunity?" Grissom replied calmly in the way only he could.  
  
"So where do we go from here?" Warrick stood up, knowing that what was next was leg work.  
  
"I want you and Catherine to go to the courthouse, question Debra's fellow workers, find out about her friends, family, where she hung out, you know the drill."  
  
"And you and Sara?" Catherine began to follow Warrick out the door.  
  
"We're going to pay a visit to one Mr. Vince Francis." 


	3. Surprise

Gil and Sara met Brass in front of Francis's house.  
  
"What kind of information did you find out about our suspect?" asked Sara.  
  
Brass pulled his notebook from his jacket and proceeded to read the details he had uncovered about the life of Vince Francis.  
  
"Age 28, formerly employed at the county jail. Held that job for three years. Seems to have been his longest term of employment. And he's been in trouble with the law before. He was charged with assault five years ago, the charge was dismissed. Otherwise mostly misdemeanor charges, no felony convictions. One interesting piece of information though, ....there have been several police runs to this address for domestic disturbances."  
  
"Domestic disturbances?" Sara looked at Brass with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Yea, our Mr. Francis has a wife."  
  
"A wife?" Sara was caught off guard by that. "That bastard was fooling around on his wife too."  
  
"Calm down Sara," Grissom put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I need you to stay focused here, okay?"  
  
Sara didn't answer, she walked towards the house with Grissom and Brass following close behind when the sound of shouting from inside stopped them.  
  
"You lazy son of bitch!" an angry female voice could easily be heard.  
  
"I'm sick and tired of supporting your lazy ass so you can party with all your whores," she continued.  
  
The yelling continued from inside as they climbed the porch steps and knocked on the door. The door was flung open with anger by the woman inside. "What the hell do you want?" she glared at the three of them.  
  
"Hi maam, I'm Captain Jim Brass, this is Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle from CSI, we would like to ask Mr. Francis a few questions," Brass said as all three showed the woman their identification.  
  
"Vinny, get your ass in here," the woman turned and shouted. "There's cops here to see ya." She turned back towards Brass, "I hope you arrest his ass this time."  
  
Vince Francis came shuffling into the room. He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts and appeared to have been in bed.  
  
"If this is about Debra, I didn't have anything to do with it," he yawned.  
  
"You know about Debra?" Sara was suspicious.  
  
"Yea lady, I know about it. It's been on the news this morning and my wife woke me and told me about it."  
  
"Mr. Francis, can you vouch for your whereabouts last night at midnight," Brass asked as both he and Grissom watched the couple for any reaction.  
  
"I was," he began only to be interrupted by his wife. "He was here with me all last night," she spit out. "He broke up with that whore months ago, but she wouldn't quit chasing after him. She got him fired." She sat down on the couch, reached for a lighter and cigarettes on the table in front of her and proceeded to chain smoke as Francis stepped out on the porch.  
  
"How long have you been married Mr. Francis," Brass continued his line of questioning while Sara and Gil watched for the slightest reaction from him or his wife inside that they may be hiding something.  
  
"Six years last month," he answered. "That's why we got back together."  
  
"We?" Grissom intoned.  
  
"Me and my wife. We seperated about a year ago, that's when I started dating Debbie. There wasn't much of a relationship there though, it was mostly just sex. When my wedding anniversary started to get close I realized what I was doing was a mistake and went back to my wife. We're still having problems, but..." he was interrupted by Sara.  
  
"Obviously," she snorted.  
  
"Look," Francis was starting to get agitated, "I didn't kill her, I was here all last night with my wife. She was seeing other men you know. Maybe it was one of them."  
  
"Do you know who any of these other men were?" Grissom asked.  
  
"No, I only know I wasn't the only one."  
  
"Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Francis," Brass put his notes away as Francis turned and went back inside. Gil and Brass stepped down from the porch.  
  
"Sara, come on, we got we needed for now," Gil said as turned back to face her.  
  
She reluctantly followed them down the steps as another shout erupted from the house.  
  
"That bitch got what she deserved if you ask me."  
  
The three of them exchanged glances as now another motive had been raised..  
  
***  
  
Greg stuck his head in the break room. "Hey Warrick, have you seen Grissom come in yet?"  
  
"No man, Catherine and I have been waiting for him and Sara to get back ourselves. We have some info that's going to just blow Sara away," he almost smiled.  
  
"Mine's better," Greg was hoping he could get Warrick to tell him what he knew.  
  
"Oh no, you're not going to get it out of me that easy. You'll just have find out after I tell Gris and Sara."  
  
The look of disappointment on Greg's face was almost more than Warrick could take. "Haven't you got a lot of other tests to run?"  
  
"Okay, Okay, I'm going, but you have tell me later." He left the break room and headed back to his lab.  
  
Grissom and Sara walked in continuing the conversation that had apparently lasted the trip back from the Francis residence.  
  
"What if they both did it and they're each giving the other an alibi," Sara reasoned.  
"She killed her and he set the fire. They claim they were home, where nobody else except themselves could see them."  
  
"It's possible, but so far we haven't found any evidence that suggests more than one person involved," Grissom grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table and rubbed his eyes. This case was not turning out to be an easy one.  
  
"Guys," Warrick saw his opportunity to share his information, "Catherine and I have something that's going to shake this whole investigation up."  
  
Sara and Grissom looked at Warrick, not sure they wanted to hear what he had to say.  
  
"You're not telling them without me," Catherine walked in.  
  
"Pull up a chair Cath, I was about to tell Gris and Sara the big news."  
  
"Warrick, will you just tell us what you found out," Sara was becoming agitated again.  
  
"Sara, calm down," Grissom wasn't in the mood for any additional delays. "Warrick, it's been a long shift," he sighed, the exhaustion becoming evident in his voice, "What do you have?"  
  
"According to Debra Farmer's co-workers, she was seeing several different men. Seems she had a reputation down at the court building."  
  
"And not a very good reputation either," Catherine joined in.  
  
"But the most interesting thing we learned," Warrick continued, "was who one of the men she was seeing was."  
  
"Who?" Grissom's eyebrows raised, his interest peaked once again.  
  
"A certain married man...., married with three kids," Warrick was ready for the expected reaction. "Catherine," he turned and looked at her, "do you want the honor of telling them?"  
  
Catherine sat down and looked at both Grissom and Sara. "The married man she was dating most recently...., was Deputy Brad Henderson." 


	4. Could it be?

Grissom was sitting at his desk, his back to the door......  
  
Was it possible he thought, had the killer been right in front of them all along. The very man who claimed to try and save Debra Farmer. He was the one who told them about Vince Francis, could this have been a ploy to throw them off, to set Francis up for the crime he committed. But so far we don't have any evidence to point directly to him or anyone else yet, all we have is two men, married men, who were having or had had an affair with the victim.  
  
Sara walked in, "Grissom."  
  
He didn't respond and continued deep in his thoughts........  
  
There's something we're missing, some piece of evidence we haven't found.  
  
Sara reached out a touched Grissom on the shoulder, "Grissom."  
  
Startled more by her touch more than by the sound of her voice, Grissom looked up.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."  
  
He turned to face her, "That's okay."  
  
"You're thinking about the case aren't you?"  
  
"Am I that obvious?"  
  
"You, obvious?" Sara smiled, "never."  
  
Before Grissom could respond there was a tentative knock on the door, "Come in Greg," he sighed.  
  
"Hi Sara," he almost couldn't contain himself as he handed Grissom the files he was carrying. "I'll think you'll find this interesting."  
  
He fidgeted while Grissom read the contents. "Are you sure about these results?"  
  
"You doubt me?" he started to say but as Grissom looked up from the results over his glasses he sheepishly replied, "I ran the tests twice."  
  
"Good job Greg."  
  
Greg left and shut the door behind him. "Yes, I rock!" he smiled and headed back to the lab.  
  
"What'd we get?" Sara pulled a chair up to the desk.  
  
"Some very interesting results. According to this, from the time the fire started to the time it was put out by the firefighters, couldn't have been more than thirty minutes. And the report from the first firefighters on the scene concur with Greg's tests of the burnt materials."  
  
"Thirty minutes? The time of death was established as midnight. So that means.....what, some kind of timing device?" Sara leaned in for a closer look.  
  
"Except we didn't find one."  
  
"Then that would mean whoever did it killed her at midnight, then came back later to start the fire. So where do we go from here?" Sara said as she leaned back in her chair.  
  
"Well, Vince Francis has an alibi, flimsy as we may think it is, it's still an alibi for now. So we start with the person who found her."  
  
"Brad Henderson," Sara shook her head in disbelief. "He got off duty at 3 A.M. There couldn't have been enough time for him to get there and start the fire. Besides, he was on duty when she died."  
  
"As to the question of time," Grissom searched through the reports on his desk, "his call reporting the fire was received at 3:25 A.M. and the fire was reported out at 3:45."  
  
"That gives him only fifteen minutes to get from his precinct office to her house, start the fire and call it in. I don't think it would've been enough time."  
  
"There's one way to find out," Grissom stood up and started for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Sara followed him out the door and towards the parking lot.  
  
"To the victim's house."  
  
"You're going by way of his precinct aren't you? You're going to time it to see if it's possible to get there in time." She opened the door to the Tahoe and climbed in beside him. "You not going without me."  
  
"I didn't think you would let me go alone," Grissom looked over at Sara. She smiled and looked away as she pulled a strand of hair from her face.  
  
****  
  
"First National Bank."   
  
"Huh, what?" Grissom's words had startled Sara. He had been silent since they left the crime lab parking lot.  
  
"First National Bank," he repeated as he checked for traffic at a four way stop. "They have an ATM out front."  
  
"Soooooo....., you need to stop on the way back or something?"  
  
They pulled in the driveway at the crime scene and exited the Tahoe. "Twenty minutes," Grissom looked at his watch.  
  
"Grissom....., the ATM, why is it so important?"   
  
"There was a security camera out front pointed at the street. We just took the most direct route here, and it took twenty minutes driving the speed limit. If Henderson used the same route that just leaves him five minutes once he got here and since we can't prove if he was speeding or not, there just might be a picture of him going by with the time established."   
  
"Do you ever miss anything Grissom?" she asked with a slight giggle.  
  
"Hello." A voice came from behind them. They turned to see an elderly man of seventy-five walking a dog coming up the drive-way.  
  
"Hello." He approached with a wide smile on his face and extended his hand to Grissom. "Jim Bishop, are you friends of Debra's?"  
  
Grissom grasped his hand and noted his firm handshake. "Gil Grissom....., Sara Sidle, we're from the crime lab."  
  
"Oh.....," the smile quickly dissappeared from his face and was replaced with sadness. "Such a terrible thing that happened. She seemed such a sweet girl."  
  
"Did you know Debra well?" Sara stepped forward and took the man's hand.  
  
"She hadn't lived here very long. We only spoke a few times. Lillian though spoke with her quite often."  
  
"Lillian?"  
  
"My wife," he turned and pointed towards his home down the street. "You should really talk to her."  
  
****  
  
Lillian smiled sweetly at them as they entered the front door. "Can I get you something to drink? Some iced tea perhaps? I just brewed it."   
  
"No thank you," replied Sara. "We just need some information about Debra."  
  
Lillian sat down on the flower print couch next Sara and put her hand on her knee. "I can't believe what I read in the paper about her. The terrible things some people are saying about her and all those men. Mr. Francis and that nice young officer were the only ones I knew about."  
  
Sara and Grissom exchanged glances with her answer.  
  
"Lillian, did you or Jim see or hear anything the night Debra was killed," Sara gently squeezed the woman's hand and looked at her face as she noticed a tear roll down her face.  
  
"No, I wasn't feeling very well that night and had went to bed early." The tears began to flow more freely now, her husband sat next to her and took her in his arms.  
  
"How about you Jim," she continued. "Did you see or hear anything?"  
  
"I wish I had. I went to bed at 11:30. I was asleep until Coco woke me up." The small dog jumped in his lap.  
  
"What time was that?" Grissom asked.  
  
"It was after three. We walked down the street." He lighlty stroked Coco's head who was beginning to fall asleep.  
  
"Did you smell any smoke while you were outside." Grissom hoped the elderly man could offer them more.  
  
"No..., no, I didn't. The only thing that happened was we were almost run down by some sports car."  
  
"A sports car? Can you describe it?"  
  
"A red, late model Mustang. Had one just like it when I was younger." A look came over his face that suggested he was remembering driving the car.  
  
Sara jumped from the couch and grabbed Grissom's arm. "There was a red Mustang parked out front when we were here the night of the fire."  
  
"I think we should find out what Henderson drives." He turned towards the couple still sitting on the couch, "Jim..., Lillian, thank you.  
  
****  
  
"I got it." Warrick tossed the file on the table in front of Grissom. Inside was a copy ofan auto registration for one late model, red Mustang belonging to Brad Henderson and a photo from the bank security camera of the same car passing by, time stamped 3:10 A.M.  
  
Grissom picked up the picture, "Hmmm, 3:10."  
  
"Yea, I guess we can add speeding to the charge of murder." Warrick said matter of factly as he sat down across from Grissom.  
  
"He had time." Sara burst through the door. "Dispatch records show he was unaccounted for between 11:30 and 12:30."  
  
"Let's bring him in for questioning." 


	5. Arrest

Henderson sat at the table in the interrogation room, alternating twirling a pencil between his fingers and tapping it on the table all the while being observed through the two-way mirror by Grissom and Sara.  
  
"Appears a bit nervous doesn't he?" questioned Grissom as he turned to face Sara.  
  
"Oh yea, more than a bit nervous," answered Sara with a tone in her voice that suggested she couldn't wait to question Henderson.  
  
"Did he bring the uniform he was wearing that night?" Grissom waited for an answer. "Sara, the uniform?" He reached out to touch her.  
  
"What?" Startled, Sara dropped her gaze to the floor. "Sorry Grissom, it's just that..."  
  
"I know," he interrupted. "It's okay. The uniform?" he asked again.  
  
"Catherine's testing it now." Sara impatiently checked her watch. "Where the hell is Brass?"  
  
"Right here." Brass walked through door behind them with a man neither Gil nor Sara had seen before.  
  
"Sara Sidle, Gil Grissom," he introduced them. "Meet Phil Mauer."  
  
Sara extended her hand and smiled. "Hi..., Phil Mauer?" She shook her head not knowing the reason for his visit.  
  
"Phil Mauer," Grissom crossed his arms and began in a way that said he knew exactly who Phil Mauer was. "He's also a deputy and assigned to the same sector as Henderson." Grissom directed his next question directly to Mauer. "You placed a call for assistance at 12:30 A.M. is that correct?"  
  
"Yea, I responded to a disturbance at a bar and radioed for assistance upon my arrival. Henderson was dispatched to back me up."  
  
"What time was it when he arrived?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Well," Mauer continued as leaned back against the wall. "That's the interesting part. In our sector, even if you're all the way on the other side, it shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to respond to any call."  
  
"And in the case of an officer needing assistance...., it should take less than that," Brass added.  
  
"You got that right," Mauer nodded. "After waiting twenty minutes, I called dispatch again. It took him twenty-five minutes to get there."  
  
"Did he give any reason for taking so long?" Sara asked looking at both Grissom and Brass.  
  
"He said he had a tire problem, but he never called it in. Later I checked with one of the mechanics at the garage, he never reported anything to them either."  
  
Sara turned back to look at Henderson, now spinning the pencil. "Do you have anything else to add?"  
  
"One thing I remember, when he finally showed up, I could smell his brakes."  
  
"Smell his brakes?" Sara turned back towards Mauer.  
  
"Yea," Mauer shrugged his shoulders and continued. "He heated his brakes up so much I could smell them."  
  
"So if he was driving fast enough that he was having to use his brakes that hard, why did it take him twenty-five minutes to get there?" Grissom asked, but this was a question he didn't need an answer to. "Thank you Mr. Mauer for coming in, we appreciate it."  
  
"Hey no problem." Mauer shook hands with Brass and Grissom. "If Henderson did what I've heard, he needs to be locked up. He's a black eye for the whole department." He turned and headed back towards the exit.  
  
"Shall we question Henderson now?" Sara was almost chomping at the bit to get her chance at him.  
  
"After you," Grissom opened the door to the interrogation room and followed her and Brass in.  
  
Henderson looked up nervously as they entered.  
  
"Hi Brad," Sara smiled, hoping Henderson would relax and not realize how much trouble he was in.  
  
"Sara?" He looked up with an expression that said he didn't understand what was happening. "I already told you everything I know, why am I here?"  
  
Sara looked to Grissom, he nodded with a look that said he was letting her take the lead on this. She sat down across from Henderson while Grissom and Brass took up positions off to the side.  
  
"Brad, tell us about your relationship with Debra."  
  
"My relationship?" he sounded surprised. "I quess you know I had an affair with her then."  
  
"We know," Sara continued. "Tell us about it."  
  
"Do you have a family Sara?" His question caught her off quard.  
  
"No."  
  
He looked down at the table, "I know it's no excuse, but my wife gave birth to twins nine months ago. We already had a toddler, it was more than I could handle at the time."  
  
"You're right, it's no excuse," Sara said not hiding her disgust with him very well.  
  
"I know, I almost lost the most important thing in my life. But I was lucky." He looked Sara in the eyes.  
  
"Lucky?"  
  
"My wife took me back, she hasn't forgiven me yet, but we're working on it."  
  
"How long did you see Debra?"  
  
"About two months. She understood when we broke up, that's why we stayed friends."  
  
"Brad, there are several descrepancies that we need to ask you about? she began.  
  
"Descrepancies?" He looked from Sara to Grissom and Brass and back to Sara. "I don't understand."  
  
"Debra Farmer died at midnight. You reported available at 11:30 P.M. after responding to a call for a possible prowler. Your next call was at 12:30 A.M. and it took you over twenty-five minutes to arrive. Can you account for your whereabouts during this time?"  
  
Henderson's expression immediately changed to one of shock. "Wait a minute, you think I killed Debra don't you?" He stared at Sara, but she showed no emotion on her face. He quickly looked at Brass. "I didn't do it. You have to believe me. I didn't kill her."   
  
"Brad, before we go any further, do you want an attorney present?"   
  
"An attorney, you really think I did it don't you? Don't you?" His voice was beginning to rise.  
  
"Brad, calm down." Sara was trying her best to be reassuring. "Do you want an attorney present?"  
  
"No, no I'm fine. I don't have anything to worry about. After all I didn't do it."  
  
"Can you tell us why it took you twenty-five minutes to respond to the call?" Sara returned to her line of questioning.  
  
"I had a tire I thought was going flat."  
  
"You didn't report it to the garage after your shift."  
  
"I took care of it myself, I didn't think it was necessary."  
  
There was a knock on the door as it opened. "Gil, Brass," Catherine stuck her head in. "I have something I think you should all see."  
  
Sara excused herself from the table and joined them in the hallway.  
  
"I've got the test results on the uniform Henderson wore the night of the fire." She handed the clipboard to Grissom.  
  
Grissom flipped through the papers. "Interesting." He raised an eyebrow and handed them to Sara.  
  
"This isn't possible," she said as she checked the results. "Nothing?" she looked at Catherine. "You didn't find anything?"  
  
"Clean. No hair, blood, fibers. No trace of gas. Not a thing."  
  
"Then he lied about trying to save her," Sara sighed. "If he crawled down the hallway like he said he did......" Sara didn't finish.  
  
"I think we have enough," Brass said and went back in the interrogation room. "Brad Henderson, you're under arrest for murder and arson in the death of Debra Farmer, you have the right to remain silent...." He continued, but Henderson could no longer hear him. He stared in disbelief at the two-way mirror on the wall, knowing Sara and Grissom were on the other side. 


	6. Irrelevant

Five days later.  
  
Sara greeted Warrick as she walked down the hallway. "Hi Warrick, buy me a cup of coffee?"  
  
"I'll buy you more than that," Warrick smiled. They headed down the hall towards the break room only to run into Catherine, Nick and Greg standing in the hall.  
  
"What's up guys?" Warrick asked. His question was answered quickly, but not by any of three he directed it to. His attention was quickly diverted to loud voices eminating from Grissom's office.  
  
"Irrelevant. What the hell do you mean it's irrelevant." It was Grissom. Warrick had never heard Grissom like this before, so it must be something major he surmised.  
  
"What going on?" He pulled Nick to his side.  
  
"Mobley's in there."  
  
"Mobley? What's he want?"  
  
"Beats me, all I've heard so far is something about some evidence."  
  
The door to Grissom's office flung open and Mobley stormed out. "I don't want to hear anymore about it Gil. The decision was made and it was the correct one."  
  
Gil followed him out the door. "How can you say it was correct without the benefit of testing?"  
  
"I'm standing by my decision and that's final." Mobley walked down the hallway to leave.  
  
"What if Henderson's innocent?" Grissom called after him, but Mobley continued without answering.  
  
"I don't believe it," Grissom mumbled. "I don't believe it."  
  
Greg had left the group when Mobley exited Grissom's office and now Nick and Catherine excused themselves to the breakroom.  
  
"Warrick, I'll take you up on that coffee later, okay." Sara left Warrick standing in the hallway as she followed Grissom back into his office.   
  
"Sure, no problem," Warrick said to no one in particular as he turned to join the others in the break room.  
  
"Grissom," Sara entered Grissom's office to find him pacing back and forth.  
  
"I can't believe he is that stupid. I can not believe that son of bitch can be that damn stupid."  
  
"Who?" Sara asked, although she knew he could only be referring to one person.  
  
"Mobley. You won't believe what he did." Grissom sat down at his desk, took his glasses off and looked up at Sara.  
  
"Try me," she sat in the chair in front of his desk.  
  
"I just found out that two days ago a sanitation crew found a corrections officer's jacket in a dumpster six blocks from Debra Farmer's house."  
  
"You're kidding," Sara said dumbfounded, although she knew Grissom never kidded about such things.  
  
"Unfortunately no. There's more too. Some kids playing in the street two blocks away found a knife in a sewer grate."  
  
"We have a possible murder weapon and a jacket from a corrections officer. What   
does forensics say? Do we have a link to Vince Francis?"  
  
"Therein lies the problem Sara," Grissom sighed. "We don't have anything."  
  
Sara was confused. "What do you mean we don't have anything?"  
  
"Mobley, in his infident wisdom decided that the jacket and knife were irrelevant and had them destroyed."  
  
"Destroyed," Sara was shocked. "He can't do that."  
  
"He can and he did," Gil responded.   
  
"What do we do now?"  
  
Grissom didn't respond. He got up and left his office, he knew there was nothing they could do now. The jacket and knife no longer exisited. They had been ruled irrelevant and could not be introduced as evidence. He only hoped that they had arrested the right man, that the jacket did not belong to Francis and the knife was merely a coincidence.  
  
"Grissom, where are you going," Sara called out to him as headed out the door into the night air.  
  
"I have date with a roller coaster."  
  
The end.  
  
Follow up: The story you have just read is based on an actual case. The law enforcement officer was convicted and senteced to 80 years for murder and arson.  
The ex-boy friend and his wife were last reported to have left town. The evidence presented in the story was as it was reported, including the jacket and knife. 


End file.
